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A review by dellydoos
Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey
2.0
Ceridwen Dovey’s Only the Animals is a collection of short stories, told posthumously by animal narrators. Uncannily charismatic, flawed and curious, the animals and their voices provide an allegory of humans, their wars, conflicts and their relationship with the world around them. There are ten stories within Only the Animals and at the end of each the animal narrator dies as a casualty of human conflict. And if that sounds bleak to you- that's because it is.
It's safe to say that I thoroughly disliked this book. Whilst I cannot deny how well researched and written it actually was, the actual contents of these short stories haunted me. It's a book on animal cruelty, plain and simple. From a camel being shot by his drunken master, to a dog forced to become a suicide bomber during World War II, to that fucking weird story about a chimp being in love with a human woman; it was just too much for me. I was visibly upset by the end of this book, crying over how cruel and stupid humans are with the lives of animals.
The strength, at least for me, came in the joyous, precious lives each of these innocent animals lived before the inevitable end. Their voices were tender, playful and curious of the world around them. And god, I wish I had all the money in the world to buy a large block of land and let these animals run, swim and fly around in ecstasy and in freedom. 2/5 stars for me.
It's safe to say that I thoroughly disliked this book. Whilst I cannot deny how well researched and written it actually was, the actual contents of these short stories haunted me. It's a book on animal cruelty, plain and simple. From a camel being shot by his drunken master, to a dog forced to become a suicide bomber during World War II, to that fucking weird story about a chimp being in love with a human woman; it was just too much for me. I was visibly upset by the end of this book, crying over how cruel and stupid humans are with the lives of animals.
The strength, at least for me, came in the joyous, precious lives each of these innocent animals lived before the inevitable end. Their voices were tender, playful and curious of the world around them. And god, I wish I had all the money in the world to buy a large block of land and let these animals run, swim and fly around in ecstasy and in freedom. 2/5 stars for me.